Robert Morris (12-11, 7-1) at Long Island University (7-14, 2-6)
When: Thursday, February 6, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Wellness Recreational and Athletic center
KenPom: RMU 174, LIU 305
Link: ESPNU, ESPN radio 970 AM
Storyline: RMU will look to bounce back from an upset loss as they kick-off a three game road trip at Long Island
Getting to know the Blackbirds
It's been a rough go of things for Long Island. The three time defending NEC champions are no longer with player of the year Jamal Olasewere due to graduation. Forward Julian Boyd was about a week away from returning for his sixth year before tearing his ACL for the third time. A rash of other injuries and graduations has put LIU in a funky situation: they're still dangerous but not being taken too seriously to compete for a championship.
The star of LIU is point guard Jason Brickman. Brickman, who has somehow never finished first team all-NEC, is first in the country in assist rate. Brickman is averaging an astounding 11.6 points and 10.0 assists per game. While he is not shooting at the percentages he would probably like, Brickman is still dangerous.
LIU has other guys who can score. Forward E.J. Reed will see a lot of touches in the high post and is second on the team in scoring with 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. "Center" Landon Atterberry might not be the biggest guy (he is listed at 6-6) but he is shooting at a very good percentage and is leading the team with 12.2 points per game. RMU also has to pay attention to guard Gerrell Martin who can knock it down from behind the arc.
When you have a point guard as good as Jason Brickman, offense won't be much of an issue. KenPom has LIU as very much an above-average offense. Defense, on the other hand, is a huge problem. The Blackbirds don't rebound too well and definitely don't defend the three point line. RMU should be able to get some good looks.
Road test
RMU will play their next three games on the road after a rare four game homestand. The Colonials are 5-9 on the road this year.
Role Players
It's hard to argue that David Appolon and Stephan Hawkins are not playing their best basketball in an RMU uniform right not. In the last homestand, Hawkins averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. Appolon averaged 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.
Getting Lucky
Congrats to junior forward Lucky Jones on passing the 1,000 point plateau in his carer. Lucky was in a bit of a shooting slump before exploding for 22 points on 7-12 shooting Saturday.
--Chris Cappella
-@C_Cappella
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